STATS ON THE SOUND: BRACKEN KEARNS

In “Stats on the Sound,” we take a look back at players on the Sound Tigers roster during the 2015-16 season and break down their numbers. In order to make the list the player had to:

a) Play in at least 10 games with Bridgeport

b) Have finished the season in the Islanders or Sound Tigers organization

First up, we look at the Sound Tigers’ leading scorer, Bracken Kearns, who signed with the Islanders as a free agent back on July 2.

23 – Bracken Kearns led the Sound Tigers with 23 goals, none bigger than his game-winner with less than a minute remaining on April 15 in Portland to propel the Sound Tigers to a playoff berth. The 23rd tally also set a new career high in goals and points (53) in a season. It marked the 15th straight season the Sound Tigers have had a 20-goal scorer.

563 – The number of games it took Kearns to get his first professional hat-trick, which he notched against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on February 5. Kearns had five two-goal games going into that Friday night and 129 goals in the AHL, but never a hat trick.

17 – Kearns’ +/- at the end of the season, which led the Sound Tigers and was the highest plus-minus for the Sound Tigers in four seasons. Kearns also finished tied for the team lead in power play goals (5) and short-handed goals (2).

34 – Age of the West Vancouver, B.C., native for the entire 2015-16 season, making him the second oldest player on the Sound Tigers next to Matt Carkner. Kearns completed his 11th professional season this year and had his best year stats-wise.

200 – The 6-foot, 195-pound forward recorded his 200th AHL assist on February 27 against Providence in a 3-1 Sound Tigers win. Kearns finished the year with 205 assists, giving him 344 points in his AHL career. He is just nine contests away from reaching 600 games played in his career.

428 – The number of games Kearns played in the minors before making his NHL debut with the Florida Panthers back in 2011. After his two games with the Islanders at the end of the season, Kearns has now played 40 games in the NHL (including playoffs). He made an immediate impact at the end of this season, assisting Alan Quine’s first NHL goal (short-handed) on April 9.

10-0 – The Sound Tigers record when Kearns had two or more points in a game during the regular season. There was arguably none bigger than his penalty shot goal on March 4 against the Providence Bruins, his second of the game, to give Bridgeport a comeback 4-3 victory.